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Spring is almost here and we have a lot of new exciting things happening to welcome the warm weather!

Spring cleaning? Of course we mean teeth! Schedule your appointment with us via Facebook, website, or by clicking on the link at the bottom of this email and you will be entered to win all the cleaning essentials you’ll need to start the season off spic-n-span (Swiffer, Pledge, Magic Eraser, etc) and of course all the tooth essentials!

Have a friend or family member that is looking for a dentist? We’d love to give them the best possible customer service and dental care we give you! Send us someone you love and you’ll be entered to win an iPod shuffle. It’s cute. It’s blue. And it could be yours!

We didn’t forget about the kiddies! In February we gave away an awesome Valentine’s Day prize pack to 4 lucky winners. This month it’s Movie Madness. Make sure when they come in for their cleaning they put their name in the fish bowl. 4 winners every month!

I was reading different articles on the web about great leadership and customer service; 2 things Dr. Elliott’s office strives for. I stumbled upon this article. It was easy to understand, highlighted a great point, and left me with a smile (dentist. smile. get it?). I hope you enjoy! -Stephanie

This article and it’s content is a copyright of SkipPritchard.com and is being shared via social media and blog only as a reference. This material belongs to its author. Enjoy!

When I was grabbing the items I needed off the shelf, I noticed a sign. “Buy three of these items and get a $5 gift card,” one sign said. The other said, “Buy two and get another $5 gift card.” I only needed one of each item, but I thought why not take the money so I loaded up.

At the checkout counter, we paid for items and then I asked about our gift cards. We liked the kind woman who was helping us. She was efficient and the type who could build a relationship fast. “I thought about that,” she responded. “Let me check….no, this item doesn’t qualify for some reason. I know you only bought this many so you would get the card.”

She pulled open the Target brochure, looked at the item, and still couldn’t figure why it didn’t give us the cards. I explained that I checked the labels when I took the items off the shelf and that they were immediately behind the sign. She shook her head and offered to have someone go check the sign.

Immediately in my mind I pictured what would happen: A light would go off. She would get on an intercom and bellow, “Man in Aisle 9 needs a price check!” We would hold up the line, miss our lunch reservation, and a manager would come out to talk to us.

“Forget it,” I said, not wanting to cause a scene and not having any time to wait. For me, the pain wasn’t worth it. (But I’m thrifty enough that it did bother me.)

“I’m sorry,” she responded with an “I wish I could do something” attitude.

Management Lesson

This is not a story about Target. It’s a good store. This is not a story about the checkout clerk. She was so nice we would seek out her line next time.

It’s a lesson for management. And it’s all about empowerment.

The clerk knew I was telling the truth. She checked the company flier. I’m not exactly the type to load up on several items as a secret ploy to cheat a company out of a few dollars.

One of two things must be true. One, I was wrong. Perhaps she could have made the decision to give me the two gift cards and she just didn’t do it. If that’s the case, she fooled me. Two, and more likely, she did not have the authority to act. And that’s a management mistake. She was smart. She was able to make the right decision. (Yes, I guess we could have both been wrong and the items were incorrectly behind the sign and incorrectly labeled.)

Empowerment:Improves customer experience

Helps employees feel a part

Enhances job satisfaction

Improves productivity

Raises expectations

There’s always a careful balance in granting authority to employees. If you are too lax in your standards, the company’s bottom line suffers. But if you are too strict, you end up creating bad feelings or even damaging your reputation.

I’ve seen businesses that do this extraordinarily well. Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan is one that comes to mind. The employees are all informed about the financial health of the company. They also are all empowered to make decisions. The result is what my friend Shep Hyken calls an AMAZING customer service experience.

Employees who are granted authority to make decisions are empowered.

Empowering employees has a number of benefits for a business.

Empowerment:

1. Improves the customer experience. The individual employee is not a drone, mindlessly acting as a machine. An empowered employee can make small decisions that end up increasing repeat business and developing loyal customers.

2. Makes employees feel like a part of the business. It’s subjective, but find a business where employees can act and you can tell that they are more committed.

3. Enhances job satisfaction. It’s frustrating to an employee to know what’s right, but feel powerless to do anything. Giving the employee some decision-making ability will decrease frustration and improve retention. It’s easier to keep a customer than to gain a new one. It’s also easier and cheaper to keep a trained employee than to recruit a new one. Keep your employees longer by getting this right.

4. Improves productivity. You don’t need a big study on this to see it. If I had stopped the line for a few dollars, how productive would the aisle be? How happy would the customers be behind me in line? Would anyone just walk out and leave their items in a cart? I’ve seen it happen.

5. Raises expectations. If someone is empowered, that person has higher expectations. I believe it’s those higher expectations that make the real difference. I’ve seen employees rise to extraordinary levels when the bar is raised. It becomes a catalyst for growth.

We all know that keeping our teeth clean is important in maintaining a beautiful smile and healthy teeth and gums, but did you know that it can also effect your whole health? Shocking new evidence is showing that periodontal, or gum disease, increases the risk of heart attack, congestive heart failure, and stroke. But here is the GOOD news. Recent studies have shown that patients who had their teeth cleaned at least once a year had a 24% lower risk of a heart attack and a 13% reduced risk of stroke compared to those who had no cleaning in two years.

Visiting us for a professional cleaning removes inflammation-causing bacteria, which in turn causes a reduction in the pathogens that can lead to heart disease or stroke.

When you hear us say we are measuring your gums for pockets, we are evaluating to detect periodontal disease. These studies have shown that participants with the highest pockets had a 53% higher risk of heart attack than those with lower pockets and patients with the highest incident of bleeding gums had more than twice the risk of stroke.

Here at our office we are doing our best to detect periodontal disease in our patients and understanding that saving teeth may save lives!

Please call our office to schedule your appointment for you or a loved one.

Sincerely,

Christine RDH, BS

Autumn RDH

Natali RDH, BS

*PS- Here is a list of conditions which connections between periodontal disease exist:

Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) sponsors National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. NCDHM messages and materials have reached millions of people in communities across the country.

Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums. Whether you’re a member of the dental team, a teacher or a parent, the ADA has free online resources that can help you with oral health presentations, ideas for the classroom and coloring and activity sheets that can be used as handouts.

Dr. Elliott and his team reach out to local schools with brushes, floss, and presentations that are fun and interactive and show children how to keep their smile healthy! We also started “Kids Corner” – a brand new board that is full of family photos, thank you cards, drawings, newspaper and achievement awards, and all sorts of fun stuff from our wonderful patients! We will also be drawing 4 names a month for different themed prize packs. Make sure your name is in the fishbowl for a chance to win